Miami County Community Foundation Awards Grants

December 8th, 2011

Terri Hall with Tech services at Peru Public Library

The Miami County Community Foundation honored local charities and donors as they awarded over $13,600 to nine worthy organizations on Thursday December 8th at the First Christian Church Fire House Ministry in Peru.

The grants are part of the Community Foundation’s Unrestricted Funds which allow the community foundation to assess the greatest needs of the community and assist the community's individual programs. The funds that make it possible for these grants to be awarded are the: Bob Clary Unrestricted Endowment Fund, Donald W. Ferrara Unrestricted Fund, Jane and Bob Haskett Fund, Miami County General Unrestricted Fund, Miami County Services Committee Unrestricted Endowment Fund and the John Nixon Unrestricted Fund.

Since 1997 the Community Foundation has awarded over 1.4 million dollars to local organizations and projects that help Miami County provide the services and enhancements that make it a great place to live and work.

The Community Foundation received 20 grant applications with requests of over $122,000 for worthy projects within Miami County. The Community Foundation relies on a committee comprised of Miami County residents and Community Foundation board members to determine  the greatest needs based upon the applications received. The committee reviewed all the applications and narrowed the selection down to the final nine organizations.

The history of Miami County was celebrated with grants to the International Circus Hall of Fame for funding to renovate their historic Big Top and the Miami County Historical Society will spread the history of the county with school children with the Explore! Travel Education Kits. 

Human Services received the bulk of the funding this year with grants to Amboy Volunteer Fire Dept to support to their pager project which will help them communicate more effectively. Area Five Agency received funding for car seats for needy families and Hickory Creek at Peru will be one step closer to getting a van for their residents which will make it easier for them to get out into the community. Providing meals to those in need was benefited with grants to the Salvation Army Miami County to upgrade their cooking equipment for the Community Feeding Program and Weekend Meal Deal will use their grant for pre-school and kindergartner weekend food packs.

Education will also receive a boost with a grant to the Peru Public Library for reading programs.

“We appreciate these organizations and volunteers who work tirelessly to support our community and all of us who live here,” said Mary Alexander, the Director of Development for the Miami County Community Foundation. “And we are especially grateful for our donors who make these grants possible.”

By Sarah Stonestreet, sstonestreet@perutribune.com

The Boomerang Sisterhood awarded $3,500 in grants to four local non-profit organizations at the group’s annual grant awards social.

Members of the group gathered at the Firehouse Ministries building Tuesday evening to choose from the four finalists as well as enjoy a light supper and fashion show given by A Lady’s Place Boutique in Kokomo. Mary Alexander, Jackie Frank, Carol Gough, Lori Purcifull, Kelsey Quin, Chloe Radel and Julie Resesett acted as models for the show, walking among the crowd to show of their outfits.

“We have very fashion-forward things,” owner Darlene Rice said. “I love to help women dress.”

Members from Harvesting Capabilities, Inc, Project SOAR, Birthright of Peru and the Beta Sigma Phi and the Zi Alpha Lambda Peru Dental Program made presentations to the gathered Sisterhood members, detailing their projects and what the grant money would go toward. Each group would receive a grant, and the group with the most votes received $1,500, second-most votes $1,000 and the third and fourth received $500 each.
This is the seventh year for the Sisterhood, affiliated with the Miami County Community Foundation and the Northern Indiana Community Foundation, to give out grants. They have in the past benefited such groups as Miami County Helping Hands, BOOKS (Books Offer Our Kids Success) and Back-Roads Dog Rescue.

Mary Wood, director at Birthright, along with Rita Cook and Heidi McKinney, detailed the cloth diaper kits the organization wants to offer the women who come to them for aid. These kits would include 3-ply cloth diapers, waterproof plastic pants, diaper pins, a diaper pail and laundry detergent. According to statistics from Wood, children go through 5,000 to 6,000 diaper changes in two and half years, which would cost on average about $1,400, an estimate that Wood said “is not really the high end.” With the cost of each kit at about $88, that’s a potential savings of about $765.

“We know it will be a tough sell because the other diapers are so convenient,” Cook said.

Wood said they would interview each woman who applied for the kit and they would also teach them how to launder and take care of the diapers. More information can be found by calling Birthright of Peru at 765-475-0706. ‎

Pat Adams, Aliceann Allman and Mary Brooks from the Peru Dental Program spoke about their services. The program offers free dental services from Miami County dentists to adults and children in Miami County from low-income families. They have to show they have financial need and cannot have insurance or Medicaid.

“We think it’s a very worthwhile program,” she said. She also said the Salvation Army screens the adult applicants, who qualify for emergency procedures only, including pain, fever and swelling. Children from ages 3 through twelfth grade are referred to the program through their school nurse. According to the pamphlet offered at the event, those who want to take advantage of the free dental work must make their own appointment and provide their own transportation. The program excludes dentures, root canals, tooth replacement, orthodontics and prescription medications. The monetary limits are $250 per adult and $300 per child. For more information, call Adams at 765-689-5184 or Allman at 765-472-2594 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Mike Hines from Harvesting Capabilities spoke about the ramps the group has been building for those who have difficulties getting out of their homes. The McGrawville United Methodist Church donated labor and materials to build two ramps, Hines said, but “we’ve been getting a lot of requests for ramps.” According to the information pamphlet, they have four more requests and a wish list that includes an auxiliary group of people with ideas to help with fundraisers, cash donations, volunteers and a secure storage area.

“There’s a lot of need,” Hines said. “We’re here to be advocates for the disabled.” He added that though they are now asking for donations and monetary aid, their plan “down the road” is to be self-sufficient.

For more information, visit the website at www.harvestingcapabilites.com or call 765-472-1902.

Jan Douglas from Project SOAR detailed their goals as well as their efforts to provide two books to each of the students involved with the seven-year-old project. These students usually need to improve their test scores, attendance, behavior or connection with the school their peers or adults. They help the students through mentoring, homework assistance, activities, special speakers, field trips and books.

Douglas said the students meet twice per week after school and after working on homework, they listen to volunteer speakers. The subjects of these speeches have ranged, she said, from scuba diving demonstrations to prescription drug abuse. In 2009, they implemented the book component of the program as Douglas said they found usually over Christmas and summer breaks students often “lost” some of what they learned during the school year.

“One of the most important things you can do for these kids is to keep them reading,” she said. The program gives the students, about 120, a book before the breaks for them to read on vacation. The teachers and libraries provided a list of the available books to the children and Douglas said they asked the students to list their top four favorites and gave them their first choice. Douglas said they purchase the books through the school, which in turn purchases it through Scholastic to get it at a cheaper rate, about $1,000 for 240 books.

After the presentations, the members present voted, giving Harvesting Capabilities $1,500, the SOAR Project $1,000 and Birthright and the Peru Dental Program $500

“The Boomerang Sisterhood is a giving circle,” Alexander said. “It’s a way to bring us all together in a fun atmosphere and to give back to the community. It’s really a wonderful organization.”